We hope you have enjoyed a restful break over the winter for in less than two months the World Triathlon Cup will return, and when this train leaves the station it will not stop until the end of the year. A mammoth nineteen races are currently pencilled onto the calendar with iconic locations returning and new venues being added. This is also the final year in the sport’s current format before the inaugural season of the Triathlon World Tour. As such, the athletes that strike gold at this year’s World Cups will be making small pieces of history.
Most significantly, the first Olympic qualification points for LA 2028 will be on the line later this year. Read on to find out the full schedule and the inside track on each event.
14th March – LANZAROTE
A new venue will kick off the campaign as Lanzarote hosts its first World Triathlon event. This represents a change after New Zealand has hosted the season opener for the past few years. Having long been a hub of triathlon, the sprint distance event in Lanzarote will be eagerly awaited. Plenty of big names are already on the start list, including Beth Potter (GBR), Laura Lindemann (GER), Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) and David Cantero del Campo (ESP).
21st March – HAIKOU
Another new event follows a week later. As with Lanzarote, this will be the first time Haikou has appeared on the circuit and the event continues the growing momentum of triathlon in China. With WTCS Weihai and the Chengdu World Cup also on the schedule, the country will not want for high-level action. Look out for home talents like Xinyu Lin (CHN) and Junjie Fan (CHN) to impress.
9th-10th May – CHENGDU
After a break for the first rounds of the WTCS, we will be back in China for the Chengdu World Cup. Last year’s action saw one of the fastest races of the season and a breakout win for Reese Vannerson (CHN). Like Lanzarote and Haikou, the Chengdu event will be a sprint distance affair and the flat course should promise some rapid racing.
14th June – HUATULCO
A month later, we return to Huatulco, one of the ever-present stops of the World Cup circuit. More often than not, the Mexican seaside town provides brutal, stifling conditions that make the sprint distance course one of the most sapping of the season. Last year, however, torrential weather made for a very different race. When it comes to the action on the course, surprises are never far away and Huatulco has seen its fair share of shock winners and medallists over the years. Might we see another in 2026?
27th-28th June- TISZAUJVAROS
From one iconic event to another: it would not be a World Cup calendar without Tiszy taking its classic summer slot. The two-day event forces athletes to contest a sprint distance semi-final on the Saturday to earn their way into the Sunday final. So far this decade, no man has gotten the better of Csongor Lehmann (HUN) in his home town and anyone looking to bet against him will be very brave with their money indeed.
18th-19th July – EDMONTON
Edmonton will then make a welcome return to the international triathlon calendar in July. The former WTCS host has provided plenty of entertainment over the years, not least at the WTCS Finals in 2014 and 2021. Budding talents like Mathis Beaulieu (CAN) and Desirae Ridenour (CAN), each of whom visited World Cup podiums in 2025, will be the ones to watch.
2nd August – RIO DE JANEIRO
The Canadian stop on the tour marks the first of a quadruple header of races in the Americas. Next up will be an event no one will want to miss: the return to 2016 Olympic host Rio de Janeiro. Ten years will have passed since Rio 2016 but few can forget the dazzling action on the Copacabana (nor the brutal hill that shook up the bike). Heading back will be a special moment and through the likes of Miguel Hidalgo (BRA), Manoel Messias (BRA), Djenyfer Arnold (BRA) and Vittoria Lopes (BRA), the hosts have the firepower to put on a show.
8th-9th August – ASUNCION
The series then shifts across to Paraguay and a venue that has earned its stripes as a World Triathlon Development Regional Cup host. Moreover, Asuncion welcomed the South American Games in 2022 and the Junior South American Games in 2025 and as such has plenty of experience in putting on high quality events. Being so close to the Rio race, this will be a perfect opportunity for athletes to double up on medals, prize money and crucial Olympic qualification points.
23rd August – LIMA
By this point you may be wondering where the Olympic distance races are hiding. Fear not, in Lima the standard distance will be on offer. Lima last hosted a World Cup race back in 2019 and in between has been a stop on the Development Regional Cup circuit. In light of the exciting action seen in the Peruvian capital previously, this will be a highly-anticipated return.
3rd-4th October – ROME
Then comes October but the season will show no signs of powering down. In fact, the opposite will be true as a frantic dash to Christmas kicks in. A return to Rome, one of the most popular venues on the circuit, launches this final surge and the hunt for an Italian winner goes on. The country had multiple World Cup medallists last year while Alessio Crociani (ITA) made a splash in the WTCS, nabbing a maiden podium. It therefore seems a matter of time before the Italian squad can make it happen in their capital. But with Rome attracting so much talent, they will have to fight tooth and nail to do so.
24th-25th October – TONGYEONG
The next Olympic distance race then arrives in Tongyeong. Tongyeong has been something of a lucky charm in recent years, with winners going on to great things in the following season. Beth Potter (GBR) and Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR) are two instances of race winners achieving their first WTCS medals in the next year, while Jolien Vermeylen (BEL) converted a 2024 win into a double European Championship triumph and a personal best WTCS finish of 4th place in 2025. Plenty of athletes then will be eager to make the most of the Tongyeong effect ahead of 2027, a potentially pivotal year in the quest to make it to LA 2028.
31st-1st NOVEMBER – SAN PEDRO DE LA PAZ
We are then back to South America for round one of a Chilean double. In 2025, home crowds turned out in droves to support the Chilean squad in Vina del Mar and San Pedro de la Paz, and the race organisers in the latter will doubtless be banking on the same happening this year. Diego Moya (CHI) has often been the star of the show on home turf, illuminating races with his fearless style. His silver medal from Vina del Mar in 2022, however, remains his best result at a Chilean World Cup. Both he and his fans would love nothing more than to go one better this year.
7th-8th NOVEMBER – IQUIQUE & HONG KONG
Completing the Chilean double-header is the Iquique stop, the difference between the two being the latter race will be held over the sprint distance. On the same weekend, the Hong Kong World Cup is also back after making its bow in 2024. This forms the meat of a World Triathlon Cup sandwich in Asia this autumn and there will be high hopes of attracting another star-studded field.
14th-15th November – MIYAZAKI
The classic autumn Asian World Cup swing then concludes in Miyazaki. Like Tongyeong, this will be an Olympic distance event. Close finishes have characterised the race over the past few years. Indeed, in the past three editions only one athlete has won by more than 8 seconds in Miyazaki (Bianca Seregni (ITA) in 2023). Based on recent history, then, this will probably be a race that goes down to the wire.
21st-22nd November – TAURANGA
As mentioned earlier, New Zealand has tended to welcome the triathlon world for the first World Cup of the year in recent times. In 2026, however, it will take its place towards the end of the calendar and with a brand new location to boot. This will be a dry run ahead of Tauranga hosting the 2028 WTCS Final, in a similar way to Pontevedra (2022 ahead of the 2023 Final) and Wollongong (2024 ahead of the 2025 Final) have done so in the past few years. This could therefore be a perfect tactical recon for world title hopefuls in two years’ time. Foremost among them might just be home star and T100 world champion Hayden Wilde (NZL).
28th-29th November – JEDDAH
Saudi Arabia will make its first appearance on the circuit as it hosts the final World Cup for both men and women (more on that below) on the final weekend of November. The presence of the new sprint distance event highlights how the Middle East is increasingly becoming a major growth region for triathlon. With no real data points to check against, this could be a gold medal that goes anywhere.
5th-6th December – DUBAI
After the successful first edition last year, the Dubai World Women’s Cup will be back to close out the season. As is indicated in the name, there will only be a women’s event in Dubai and the athletes will compete over the sprint distance. Valentina Riasova (AIN) emerged triumphant last time round and a field packed with international stars can be expected at this year’s edition.
Finally, the Lievin World Cup was scheduled for March but has been postponed. World Triathlon shall provide more information about the event once the new date has been confirmed. In the meantime, be sure to catch all the action throughout 2026 on TriathlonLive and across World Triathlon social channels.
